Hi Joel and Lee:
I used to have xeroxes of all the published OLY camera and lens tests from
Popular and Modern Photography. Back in the days I would memorize this stuff.
I've located bound copies of the same at the UNLV library here. I'll likely
get around to making more now that I'm interested in comparing the Canon FD
equivalents. I'll supplement the FAQ as appropriate.
Meanwhile, I specifically remember a (probably early 80's) Popular Photography
comparative lens test of normal lenses from about 12 to 16 different
manufacturers. They looked at four 50 mm lenses from each manufacturer: f/1.0
to 1.2, f/1.4, f/1.7 to f/2.0, and macro lenses. The OLY f/1.2 was a
significantly better performer than the f/1.4, to the point I concluded that
I'd wait out supplementing my f/1.8 (which got quite good test results) till
the day I could afford the f/1.2 The f/1.4 was not a good competitor to the
other major brands in that review! If I had ever seen a conflicting test in
Modern Photography, I likely would have changed my mind. Also, I'm sure I
best recall the performance in the more open apertures. It wouldn't have
mattered much in the f/5.6 to f/16 range, since I would tend to use the macros
or the f/1.8 for those shots.
Mind you, Modern Photography suffered from single sample testing. So any test
results are subject to manufacturing variability. But this review in Popular
Photography was about the time they started showing range symbols on their
graphs, indicating the variability in samples tested to date. That made it
especially valuable.
With that said, I waited it out 15 years without anything faster than my f/2.0
macro. Yesterday I got a f/1.4 by virtue of the fact it came with a OM-1 body
I wanted. Since I'm no longer into available light photography it doesn't
matter that I didn't wait out the f/1.2 But maybe one raised in the Tri-X era
never outgrows their yearning for a lens that can shoot in near darkness.
Gary Reese
Las Vegas, NV
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